NCAA teams prepare to adapt after rule moves 3-point line a foot back to 20 feet, 9 inches

College basketball - NCAA rule change

A lousy 12 inches has blurred the vision of Ole Miss Coach Andy Kennedy, who predicts problems of confusion with the controversial new 3-point line moving a foot back this year to 20 feet, 9 inches.

The women's line will remain in its original spot, separated by a different color, which opens the lane for college basketball to turn into an NFL-style coaching challenge party.

"Coaches are crafty. They'll question calls," Kennedy said. "You're asking for problems when you're asking which line it's behind, so you might see stoppages in play. I'm not sure its good for flow of the game."

Since the inception of the 3-point line in 1986, undermanned teams could always rely on college basketball's 19-foot, 9-inch equalizer to thrive against powerhouse programs. Even streaky power forwards could shoot the original 3 with confidence.

That might not change -- depending on whom you talk to --- as the college basketball season tips off this week and debuts the 3-point-line's first major makeover.

Teams broke records with 6.72 3-pointers made per game and average 3-point attempts (19.07), according to NCAA records. National average 3-point shooting percentages hovered around 34 percent for 12 years until they rose above 35 percent for the last two.

In May 2007, the NCAA decided to mandate the change based on presenting a new challenge for the sport -- to make long-distance shooting more of a specialty instead of a prerequisite.

While opinions on the line vary, projections from analysts already have begun. After studying 3-point shooting over a five-year period, statistical analyst Ken Pomeroy published a report that shows about a 37-percent shooting rate from both 20 and 21 feet.

Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl doesn't need to see the stats to be convinced of the opposite.

"I think you will see 3-point percentage drop," Pearl said. "I think the distance will make a difference. I don't think you're gong to see desired effect of the lane being more open."

Pearl even has a two-point argument to cushion his stance. No. 1, teams will play more zone. No. 2, teams will play off players they usually have to guard at the line, creating a crowded lane.

If the new line cripples the mid-majors, the NCAA Tournament might never be the same.

"The Butlers and the George Masons, those are the great stories of our tournament and college basketball," Pearl said. "I think in some ways by taking that shot away from some, I think it's going to make the rich get richer. I think it will help the bigger teams."

The Florida Gators have averaged anywhere from 18 to 21 3-point attempts per game the last five years, but numerous Gators say they aren't worried about the line change.

Forward Dan Werner said he sees nothing but positives.

"You can see a little bit of change with the bigs having some more room," Werner said. "Guys who come down to double down, they are going to have to come a little further. So it might give the 3-point shooters more time to get the shot off."

Once the season progresses and the conference games get intense, the new line could weed out the long-distance impostors who could occasionally throw it in from the shorter line.

"Players today, most of them, when you talk about guards and wings -- if he's a good 3-point shooter behind the line we had, he'll be a decent shooter behind the new line," Kentucky Coach Billy Gillespie said.

Florida guard Nick Calathes is just hoping to have his eyes in the right place.

"It's tough for me at times [to tell the difference]," Calathes said of the men's and women's lines. "Because I'm a little color-blind."